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Evacuation of Danevirke | |||||||||
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Part of the Second Schleswig War | |||||||||
The famous painting Tilbagetoget fra Dannevirke 1864 by Niels Simonsen, showing the Danish withdrawal from the Dannevirke fortifications. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Prussia Austria | Denmark | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia | Gen. Christian de Meza |
During the Second War of Schleswig, the fortifications of Danevirke were evacuated by the Danish army in 1864. This marked the last military use of the ancient defence structure of Danevirke, which has remained in German possession ever since.
Due to emotive nationalist symbolism, public opinion in Denmark had expected the coming battle to take place at the Danevirke. The fortifications were already under attack, but no battle took place there, except some early skirmishing in close proximity just south of it, as the Danish Commander in Chief, General de Meza, withdrew his forces to the trenches at Dybbøl. General De Meza feared being outflanked, as the Schlei and the wetlands between the Danevirke and Husum had frozen solid in a hard winter, and because the territory immediately in front of the Danevirke had already fallen into German hands.
This retreat came as a surprise to the Austro-Prussian army, and almost all of the Danish army succeeded in completing the evacuation. It resulted, however, in the abandonment of important pieces of heavy artillery, and it remains a matter of historical debate why the railway to Flensburg was never properly used for the evacuation.
News of the retreat came as a great shock to Danish public opinion which had considered the Danevirke to be impregnable, and General de Meza was promptly relieved of his command.
The Duchy of Schleswig was a duchy in Southern Jutland covering the area between about 60 km north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany. The region is also called Sleswick in English.
Dannevirke, is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the main centre of the Tararua District.
The First Schleswig War, also known as the Schleswig-Holstein Uprising and the Three Years' War, was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question: who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, which at the time were ruled by the king of Denmark in a personal union. Ultimately, the Danish side proved victorious with the diplomatic support of the great powers, especially Britain and Russia, since the duchies were close to an important Baltic seaway connecting both powers.
The Second Schleswig War, also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border into the Danish fief Schleswig. Denmark fought troops of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire representing the German Confederation.
The Danevirke or Danework is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This historically important linear defensive earthwork across the neck of the Cimbrian peninsula was initiated by the Danes in the Nordic Iron Age about AD 650. It was later expanded multiple times during Denmark's Viking Age and High Middle Ages. The Danevirke was last used for military purposes in 1864 during the Second War of Schleswig.
The Battle of Dybbøl was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War, fought between Denmark and Prussia. The battle was fought on the morning of 18 April 1864, following a siege that began on 2 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat which – with the Prussian capture of the island of Als – ultimately decided the outcome of the war, forcing Danish cession of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.
Christian Julius de Meza was the commander of the Danish Army during the 1864 Second Schleswig War. De Meza was responsible for the withdrawal of the Danish army from the Danevirke, an event which shocked the Danish public and resulted in the loss of his command.
Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,356 in the southeastern corner of South Jutland, Denmark. It is located around 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Sønderborg. It is mainly known for being the site of a famous last stand battle in 1864.
The Battle of Als was fought on 29 June 1864 during the Second Schleswig War between Denmark and Prussia. It was the last major engagement of the war, as the Prussians under General Herwarth von Bittenfeld secured the island of Als – occupied by 9,000 Danish troops, including the garrison of Dybbøl which had retreated there – in a night attack masterminded by the Chief of Staff Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal.
The Battle of Sankelmark was a minor battle during the Second Schleswig War. It took place on 6 February 1864 between Sankelmark and Oeversee, on the road between Schleswig and Flensburg, during the Danish retreat from Dannevirke.
Events from the year 1864 in Denmark.
The Battle of Mysunde on 2 February 1864 was the first battle between the Prusso-Austrian allied army and the Danish army in the Second Schleswig War. The Prussian vanguard force of 10,000 men attempted to break through and outflank the Danish defenses at Danevirke, but were repulsed by the fortification garrison and two battalions of the Danish army.
1864 is a 2014 Danish television historical war drama series written and directed by Ole Bornedal. It is based on two books by Tom Buk-Swienty about the Second Schleswig War of 1864 between Denmark and an alliance of Prussia and Austria which ended in defeat for Denmark and the loss of a quarter of its territory to Prussia. It follows two brothers from a remote village on Funen who enlist in the Danish army just before the outbreak of war, and experience the horrors of combat in Schleswig. It also features actual historical figures such as Danish prime minister D. G. Monrad and Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck. It was the most expensive Danish TV series to be made to date.
The First Battle of Dybbøl was the first of three battles of the First War of Schleswig to be fought at the town of Dybbøl between the Danish army and forces of Prussia and the other German states.
The Battle of Königshügel, also known as the Battle of Ober-Selk was a battle in the Second Schleswig War where Austrian Major General Gondrecourt and his infantry brigade succeeded in occupying the area in front of the Danevirke near Ober-Selk and taking the strategically important village of Königshügel.
Georg Daniel Gerlach was a Danish officer. He was the son of Captain Molter Christoph Gerlach of the Schleswig Hunters Corps and Anna Sabine Magdalena née Boehn. In 1827 he married Caroline Marie Kromayer (1800-1846), who in the marriage gave birth to eight children, one of whom died in infancy.
Peter Frederik Steinmann was a Danish officer and Minister of War who served in the First and Second Schleswig Wars.
Carl Philip Friedemann Maximilian Müller, more commonly known as Max Müller was a Danish officer who served in the First and Second Schleswig Wars.
Cai Ditlev Hegermann-Lindencrone was a Danish general and politician who was the main Danish commander at the Battle of Vejle during the Second Schleswig War as well as the personal adjutant general of Frederik VII. He was also the father of Johan Hegermann-Lindencrone and Fritz Hegermann-Lindencrone.
The siege of Schleswig took place from 1131–1132 during the Danish Civil Wars. It saw forces under the Eric II of Denmark, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III, and Adolf of Holstein face off against Niels I of Denmark and his son Magnus the Strong of Götaland. Eric failed to break the siege, as he was deserted by Lothair III after he came to an agreement with Magnus and Niels. Only Adolf of Holstein remained with Eric, but his forces were destroyed trying to cross the Eider.